Meaux France
Frequently Asked Questions
At the river landing, four pontoons in the heart of town with a direct view of the Pont du Marché and the cathedral towers. You step off and you are there: the shopping streets begin at the end of the gangway.
The episcopal quarter — Saint-Étienne cathedral, the Bossuet museum and the bishop's garden all together — then the cheese shops in the centre. The Great War museum needs half a day on its own: it is one or the other.
It is a Gothic project carried out over several centuries, striking for the pale gold of its stone and the lacework of its façade. Inside lies Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the most famous preacher of the Grand Siècle, known to history as the Eagle of Meaux.
The former bishops' palace, home to the Bossuet museum: 17th and 18th century paintings under the vaults, a courtyard closed by the 13th-century Vieux Chapitre with its stair turret, and a formal garden said to be laid out in the shape of a bishop's mitre.
It is the largest museum in Europe devoted to the First World War. It tells the daily reality of the conflict through tens of thousands of objects, uniforms, requisitioned taxis and suspended aircraft. Allow half a day to do it justice.
By shuttle or taxi, which cover the distance in a few minutes. In front of the entrance stands the Weeping Liberty, a monumental statue given by the United States in memory of the soldiers of 1914.
Because in September 1914 the first Battle of the Marne was fought at the gates of the town. That is why Europe's largest museum of the conflict stands here.
Raw-milk Brie de Meaux is aged at least four weeks; its Melun cousin is stronger. The cheese shops in the centre are happy to explain the distinction and let you taste both.
Saturday morning. It is one of the most highly regarded in the region, and brie reigns in majesty among the stalls.
A wedge of brie wrapped under a dome, Meaux mustard made the old way with whole grains, and a bottle of champagne: the first vines of the appellation grow only a few kilometres to the east.
